Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its beautiful characters .. but I will one day ! x) It all belongs to SquareSoft. :salutes: -.-;;
Balamb Garden Amazing Race
Chapter Four ll T-Bone Steak
The water was a barrier that they had to overcome. Their enemy was sighted, wading through its protection. They had their weapons ready. All they had to do was swing the almighty rod and -
"Ouuuuch! Sefie, be careful!"
For a significant part of her life, Selphie Tilmitt had grown up in Trabia Garden. She'd been a cadet since she was a bumbling toddler of three, more fond of saluting her superiors and yelling, "Sir, yes, sir!" than actually learning how to fight with weapons and brains. The bouncy brunette had been trained intensely in combat, but she liked pretending she was out in an old-fashioned battlefield, running and crouching and calling everyone she met along the way, "Colonel!"
Which explained why Irvine had been witnessing her roaming up and down Balamb's shoreline, carrying their fishing rod as though it were a gun.
"Oh, Irvy, sorry!" Selphie exclaimed as he unhooked the line off his jacket, "I was trying to get that - fish!" She waved the rod heroically again and it landed into the ocean with a plonk.
Irvine grinned, pulling his rolled up pants a bit more to keep them dry as he stepped barefoot into the shallow water. He had already caught two fish - with his bare hands - and it didn't seem likely Selphie was going to master the ability of the rod anytime soon. For the past twenty minutes she had been flourishing it enthusiastically but not skillfully, and that pretty much left it up to him to complete the task.
Ironic, since Selphie had been one of the best fishers back at the orphanage.
"I found another one!" the yellow-clad girl yelled gleefully, tossing the rod over her shoulder, "Forget using the line, I'm going to - " splash! " - grab it!" A second later she emerged from the wet surface, both her hands clutching onto something. Irvine squinted at her, wondering if she had caught it, when she jumped up blithely, waving the floundering fish above her head.
"IRVY! WE DID IT! We've finished the second challenge!"
Grinning at her childish behaviour, Irvine shouted uproariously, "Good job, Sefie!" She was dancing as she made her way towards him in the water, so that it was kicked up and flew out in the air in little droplets.
Irvine turned slightly to look over at the blue team, who were further down the coast. Rinoa was sitting on the grass, her fishing line out into the ocean, while Squall had begun to follow in the yellow team's idea of searching in the shallow water.
"Gonna dive in with those boots on?" Irvine called with a grin as the leather-clad young man kept a sharp eye for any fish swimming by. His only response was to shake his head in a plaintive manner.
"Hey - WAAH!" Selphie stumbled her last few steps towards Irvine, the plump, orange fish slipping out of her hands spectacularly and slapping into the surprised Squall's chest.
"What the - ?" he blinked at the flapping fish that was getting his shirt wet, then cracked a sheepish smile as he looked up, "Hey, thanks."
"Wait - SQUALL!" Selphie yelled in panic, trying to gain her balance while Irvine steadied her, "SQUALL, COME BACK!"
"Doesn't this count as sabotage?" Irvine shouted, both of them sprinting down the length of the beach after Squall, who was a very fast runner.
"No, because he didn't exactly snatch it off us - BUT THAT WAS MY FISH!" Selphie hollered indignantly, outraged that anyone could even think of running off with her precious catch.
Rinoa turned her head quizzically at the yells and shouts and she was startled to see three figures flying towards her. Dropping the rod on the grass she ascended from her spot with a frown, wondering what on earth was happening.
"Rinoa!" Squall shouted, still a good ten feet away from her, "GET THE CAMERA AND THE FISH!"
Get the camera and the fish? What is that supposed to mean?
And then it clicked.
"Oh!" Rinoa gave a cry of understanding and floundered around to grab the bucket of fish and her digital camera. She flung her head up to see Squall drawing closer. Selphie and Irvine were hot on his heels.
"Catch!" her team mate yelled desperately, holding out the orange thing and she finally saw that it was a fish. Unfortunately this did not wash down well with her.
"What - no! I can't catch a fish!" she cried back, horrified. Then, "AHHH!" She dropped her camera back onto her bag and threw her hands out as the fish sailed through the air almost gracefully ("NOOO! MY FISH!" Selphie cried in a stricken voice) and landed squelchily in her arms.
Rinoa made a disgusted noise that turned into a squeal of fright as Squall dove and landed beside her, out of breath. Before she could ask him what in the name of heavens was going on, he'd picked up the camera, held it up in front of them and pressed the button -
SNAP.
- just as Selphie and Irvine reached them, panting heavily.
The three of them caught their breath for a few seconds while Rinoa stared, bewildered, at their heaving forms. Finally, she found her voice.
"Did you guys want your fish back?" she asked timidly, holding out the orange creature gingerly.
"Yes!" Selphie grabbed it possessively, then told them, "You guys are such CHEATERS!"
"Yeah, don't expect us to forge an alliance with you," Irvine added in an affronted tone, "Selfish, ungrateful children... I do not dip my hat to you!" And with this offended note, the yellow team turned around and walked off together, heads held high.
Squall just stared after them.
Rinoa nudged him after a second, "Aren't they just so... weird sometimes?"
He looked at her and they shared a mutual look of understanding about their friends. As Squall coughed and his lungs ached after that intense sprint, Rinoa read their next challenge.
"What is it?" he asked her, lying on the grass with his head resting against her side.
Rinoa folded the blue cardboard grimly, "Find a Dino Bone."
Squall groaned as he got to his feet, "Lucky you've got Shiva junctioned."
She smiled at him teasingly, "Yeah, you are lucky you have me on your team. To help you pass the SeeD test, to have a wet fish thrown at by you, to have the highest compatability with Shiva..." she ticked her list of attributes off her fingers.
"You did not help me pass that test. That was all me."
"Arrogant, aren't we?"
He swung the bucket lightly at her head and she ducked, laughing heartily. After they had packed up, the blue team proceeded across the plains, dodging Bite Bugs and Glacial Eyes, to the forests.
"There's a higher chance of encountering one in the Training Centre," Squall explained, "But T-Rexaurs roam around in here as well." He took out his Lionheart, stepping around cautiously in a way Rinoa supposed they'd been trained to as SeeDs.
As she secured her Shooting Star, she saw two figures whizzing past outside on the road.
"Hey, look, there's Shizuka and Zell!" she said animatedly, peering between the trees, "Hmm... I think they're going back to Garden."
Squall grimaced slightly, his blade glimmering in the shafts of light falling between the treetops. There was a sound behind them and they instinctively spun around, weapons raised. A fat Caterchipillar met them, and they relaxed.
It was going to be a long challenge.
"Let's move, Seifer!" Quistis called back at her lagging companion.
"Yeah, hold on a second, woman!" Seifer shouted through clenched teeth, having some difficulty pulling his Hyperion out, "Aha, I've got it." He began to ran much faster so that he overtook Quistis, "Hey, I see the cowboy and messenger girl! Let's move, Quisty!"
"We are not going back to Garden," Quistis interrupted their leisurely run by grabbing his backpack and yanking him to a halt, "We can find a T-Rexaur in one of these forests."
"Gee, talk about bossy," a ruffled Seifer complained, "What happened to teamwork?"
"Whatever it takes to win, right?"
He shook his head despairingly, "I knew that would come back to haunt me."
Seifer jumped slightly when Quistis cracked her whip in her stylish, unique way. He eyed it fearfully, remembering how he had once been in the danger of falling victim of that lethal Save The Queen.
Something moved among the trees. Squall stood very still, his Lionheart poised steadily.
"Did you hear that?"
Rinoa paused, then said, "Yeah. Another caterpillar monster?" she asked with a groan. They'd fought five already.
"It must be a T-Rexaur," he said calculatingly, peering between the trees cautiously.
She looked skeptical, "Are you sure? Don't they usually make huge, thunderous noise when they're near?"
"They're big, but they're clever," was Squall's reply, still on the lookout for an enormous creature that could not possibly be missed, "Unlike Caterchipillars and Bite Bugs, who just fly out at you."
There was another rustle, and this time, it sounded much closer. As the two fell hush quiet, they heard the faint sounds of careful footsteps approaching. Squall threw a look at Rinoa which plainly meant, "I was right." After all, Caterchipillars and Bite Bugs didn't have feet.
"Weapons ready," he muttered quietly, and he and Rinoa stood side by side, her hand resting on her Shooting Star. Together they moved towards the source of the noise.
"Did you know that if you jump out and frighten your monster it takes away a quarter of its health?"
Quistis let out a laugh, "And you really believe that?"
Seifer nodded, unperturbed. He looked at his instructor as she chuckled again, shaking her head. "What, you think it's a lie?"
"Obviously..." the blonde said under her breath. They were delving deeper into the forest, and so far Seifer had been unintentionally amusing her with his "101 Cheats to Winning a Battle."
Red bandanas swishing from their hair and arm, they both searched in silence for a moment. Seifer's ears pricked when he heard movement a little to their left, and he saw a flicker of a shadow moving among the green leaves. He grinned.
"I'll prove it to you," he said simply to Quistis, and before she could reprimand him he'd jumped over the little bush with his Hyperion, emitting a very bold and loud war cry.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA - AHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Seifer gasped in shock and almost fell onto his behind when the monster he'd been anticipating to scare turned out to be two very human creatures who'd jumped out of their skins at his war cry.
"What was that about, Seifer?" Rinoa yelled, looking very shaken up, "You scared the daylights outta me!"
Quistis peeked between the trees to find the three of them, all still suffering shock to some degree. Squall was looking perplexedly at Seifer, seriously debating whether it would be wise to give him another scar. Quistis looked rather amused.
"So much for the proof," she remarked.
"Was that some sort of tactic to throw us off?" Squall muttered, annoyed at having been frightened by something as stupid as this. Because it sure worked...
"No, actually, it was - "
"RAAWWRGH..."
Quistis was cut off mid-sentence as the four teenagers glanced up in the direction the roar had just come from. They looked at their team mate respectively, even Seifer who was still overcoming his stunned state, confirming what they had just heard.
"T-Rexaur!" they all cried in unison, and with a deadly glance at the enemy team, they began pelting off through the forest.
"Shizuka!" Zell cried in an anguished voice, running to her fallen side as the giant dinosaur crashed onto the ground, defeated. Please let her be alright, please let her be alright...
"Full-life!" he yelled, concentrating hard.
Purple and blue sparks fell gently and was absorbed by her unconscious body. Zell watched unblinkingly and a relieved smile broke across his face as her weary body sat up groggily.
"Zell?" she said feebly, as the fog cleared from her mind. She flushed at the close proximity of their faces, and Zell instantly moved back as she sat up properly, looking around.
"Hey, where's the - ?"
"Defeated," Zell replied before she finished.
Shizuka beamed at him, "I always knew you were a good fighter!" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, trying to look modest. "Does that mean we've got the Dino Bone?" she asked excitedly.
Zell turned to look and she followed him to see the large, white bone that sat where the T-Rexaur had been previously. She let out a disbelieving chuckle, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"Wow... I actually fought a T-Rexaur..." she said in an awestruck voice as he walked back towards her, carrying the Dino Bone with both arms.
"Man... this is heavy," he huffed, collapsing beside her. Shizuka smiled to herself, looking at the blonde guy sitting beside her. She never thought she'd be in this place, sitting in the middle of the Training Centre with Zell Dincht. It was a little insane, actually.
A flash from her digital camera captured that insane moment, both of them smiling bashfully with the bone across their laps.
The blue and red team had raced each other to get to the forest-wrecking dinosaur, only to skid short and stare up at the two T-Rexaurs that stood at towering heights, looking down at them hungrily.
The bigger monster immediately made to bite at Quistis, who jumped back. Seifer snarled and swiped at it with his Hyperion, making it growl in fury. As the two engaged into battle, Squall cast Aura on himself and the smaller T-Rexaur focused its attention on them.
Shiva! Rinoa shut her eyes and summoned the ice queen, hearing her guardian's soothing reply in return. She felt her mind go cool as a frosty blanket of protection wrapped around her, Shiva shielding her with her own strength.
Squall slashed at the beast seven times before landing on the ground again, with no finishing blow. Almost as soon as he landed the T-Rexaur let out a low roar and swung its tail at both of them. Squall was knocked almost flat off his feet and Shiva took the blow for Rinoa, but both stood their ground firmly, weapons still held up high.
"Diamond Dust," Shiva announced her arrival in her cool, composed voice.
Ice was blasted all around, chilling the atmosphere and the bones of the T-Rexaur as it let out an anguished growl.
Rinoa felt her mind and body return back to normal as Shiva left again, ready to return if summoned. Evidently they'd enraged the monster as it went for a bite at the unready girl.
"Rinoa!" Squall yelled; he ran in front of her just as the creature's jaws snapped an inch away from her waist, striking it with his gunblade. The T-Rexaur immediately withdrew, howling in pain.
"Hey, I could've taken that bite!" Rinoa called, pretending to be angry. Squall merely half-shrugged and she smiled to herself as she cast Blizzaga on the dinosaur. Squall had never failed to save her, whether it be the threat of a monster, a sorceress, or from herself. She had no idea where she'd be without him. She only concluded it was a truly blessed day when Cid appointed him and the others to support the Timber Owls group.
"Hey, can you - oi! Hey kid, - OI!"
Irvine and Selphie had been the first to finish the task, owing to the fact they'd discovered a Dino Bone lying near the back of the Training Centre, something they felt they richly deserved after the blue team had "betrayed" them.
"What?" a junior classman asked, sounding impatient.
"Would you care to tell us what this is?" Irvine asked politely, very tempted to drop the Dino Bone as it was extremely heavy.
The boy scratched his head, staring at it perplexedly.
"Uhh... a bone?"
Irvine almost did drop it.
"But what kind of bone?" Selphie hinted, flapping her arms in a way she must've thought described a dinosaur. The boy looked even more confused.
"...a dog?" he tried. Both Selphie and Irvine deflated with synchronized sighs, and if they had been in an anime cartoon a giant sweat drop would have appeared on the side of their faces.
"That's a Balamb rock, of course! See how the sides have been smoothed out by the waves..."
"Hmmm... it kind of looks like my sister's rattle."
"Isn't that a cricket bat for children?"
"What on earth are you people, cannibals?" exlaimed the woman, outraged.
"...On second thought, it doesn't look much like a rock after all. Oh, I know! It's a bone, isn't it? Of some gigantic, prehistoric creature?"
"Yeah..." Rinoa and Squall said hopefully, their hearts thudding in anticipation. They looked expectantly at the elderly man as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He suddenly slapped his thigh delightedly, "It's a mammoth bone!"
"WHO ARE YOU TO CALL MY SISTER BIG?"
"It's not a cricket bat? Well... you have me stumped."
"...if you're not cannibals, what's that hat made out of then, huh?"
Irvine touched his cowboy hat tentatively, "I dunno... cotton and felt?"
The woman scoffed, holding her shopping bags up higher, "I bet you slaughtered a bear for that fabric! Cannibals!" She turned around and went off without another word.
"I think she's mixed up between a carnivore and a cannibal," Selphie whispered as the lady went off. Irvine groaned, his arms threatening to pop out of its sockets.
"I hate this challenge..."
"OI, COME BACK HERE Y'COWARD! NO ONE TALKS ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!"
All four teams of the Balamb Garden Amazing Race were roaming the town of Balamb, desperately trying to find someone who could identify the Dino Bone for them. It suddenly hit these teenagers how dim-witted people were, especially students at Garden.
"I will throw this into the ocean in a second," Seifer growled, glaring daggers at the bone he'd been lugging around for at least ten minutes.
Quistis was studying the strangers walking by.
"Nope, already asked them... looks too old... thought it was a - hey, there's yellow!" she yelled, her tone becoming bright and relieved, "We can ask them, can't we? The challenge didn't specify..."
Midway in their run towards Selphie and Irvine, they both spotted them as well and their faces lit up. They met with each other halfway, shouting and gibbering about the lack of knowledge present in Balamb.
"OIII! YOU GUYS!" Zell's boisterious voice resounded in the air and they all turned to see him and Shizuka jogging towards them. Not too far behind were Squall and Rinoa.
Within seconds the eight were standing in the harbour square, reunited for a brief moment.
"Okay, we all know why we're here!" Selphie shouted over all the noise. She held the mayhem-causing bone over her head, "WHAT IS THIS, EVERYBODY?"
"A DINO BONE!" they all chorused back at her, feeling satisfied that somebody had finally said it. Passer-bys all went, "Oh!" in comprehension, and one said distinctly, "I said that, didn't I?"
A photo was taken to prove they'd had somebody (each other) identify it, and suddenly all unity was broken as the teams ran off to read their next challenge.
"See you at the finish line - we'll be waiting for ya!"
"Did you have about five young people come up to you and ask you to identify a white rock for them?"
"Yes, actually. I said it was a mammoth bone but they insisted it wasn't. Teenagers these days. Got nothing better to do."
"Mmmm. ...Of course it wasn't a mammoth bone, it's one of those - you know - olden-day cricket bats."
"...You're pulling my leg."
"I am not!"
A/N: Phew, that was long, eh? x) Yay for reviews! Thanks for them. They're all so nice and encouraging, hehe. I've been thinking about the plot of this fic, and I think I've finally figured it out. xD I better cut it short, I've got assignments to get a move on with. -.-;; - msq.